NL WEST STANDINGS Through 8/15/10

    W   L    PCT  GB  RS  RA  DIFF
----------------------------------
SD  69  47  .595    - 508 395 +113
SF  67  52  .563  3.5 518 440  +78
COL 61  56  .521  8.5 558 517  +41
LAD 60  58  .508 10.0 516 517   -1
ARI 47  72  .395 23.5 540 648 -108

Colorado and Arizona have been scoring (RS) like crazy compared to the other teams — in the Rockies’ case, they’re keeping their opponents from scoring (RA) too many in return, while the Dbacks have a woeful -108 run deficit (DIFF).

Meanwhile on the top of the division, San Diego and San Francisco aren’t scoring very many runs, but their pitching and defense are keeping the opposition down — the Padres with a phenomenal +113 to the positive.

And then there’s the Dodgers. They have kept their opponents to a tepid 517 runs…and have scored one less than that themselves. This is a recipe for malaise.

Whether viewed from an NL (8th out of 16 teams) or overall NL+AL perspective (15th out of 30 teams), the Dodgers are in the middle of the pack. They are 6.5 games out of the wild card, 10 games away from the NL West pennant.

What can they do to save the 2010 season?

Score more runs. It’s not too complicated.

“She might have been glad to confide all these things to someone. But how to speak about so elusive a malaise, one that keeps changing its shape like the clouds and its direction like the wind? She could find no words; and hence neither occasion nor courage came to hand.” — Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary.

Jon Weisman celebrates the 9th birthday of Dodger Thoughts with a thorough and thought-provoking post this morning, Trade Deadline Inception, covering some of the possibilities and pitfalls of the impending July 31st deadline. Jon isn’t alone, either, with various media and bloggy outlets speculating on the potentiality of disassembling one of the lineups with the best potential in the majors.

Whatever the whys and wherefores of their lackluster 2010 season, the Dodgers are currently six games back of the NL West-leading Padres. Coincidentally, they just (surreally) lost their sixth game in a row.

Trolley Dodger has been pretty silent so far this season, relative to previous years. Most of that had to do with “real-life” events and the all-powerful to-do list (not to mention a month-long World Cup distraction; more on this later), but it is also wrapped up in the malaise of 2010.

From the ill-timed divorce announcement on the eve of the NLCS last October, and subsequent series loss, it has been a struggle to keep up the enthusiasm. And while I have watched a number of games, I haven’t gone to any this year (except for the Kershaw game at Angel Stadium: oof), including missing the recent Blogger Night.

Again, real life has been a big culprit, but it has been a tough sell for my fragmented attention to invest in the Dodger labors. When an activity that is normally an escape from the depressing parts of existence becomes itself depressing…well, what is there to write about? Especially if you’re not one to tear down your favorite team for the sake of talking about something. There’s a surfeit of commenters online, not to mention talk show hosts and callers, who like nothing more than to kvetch 24/7 about the smallest Dodger problems, never mind the major issues — they don’t need any help from me.

So, going outside for a walk has been a great coping mechanism I’ve latched onto this year, and despite the crazy heat here in Inland SoCal I’m trying to keep it up. And oxygen+endorphins certainly help your day more than worrying about a bunch of sports stuff every waking moment. Besides, the old baseball attitude of “don’t get too high, and don’t get too low” certainly applies to fandom as well.

That said, I’m looking forward to what happens between now and the deadline, as well as seeing if the Dodgers can stage an improbable comeback in 2010.

History is merely a list of surprises. … It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again. Please write that down. — Kurt Vonnegut, Slapstick.

ESPN’s Buster Olney sits down with Jake Peavy and Andre Ethier as they go over an at-bat between the two in 2009

Ethier comes in near the end of the game to pinch-hit.

Took a while, but I finally tracked down this picture of Mrs. Trolley Dodger (aka my wife, Denyse) and Jose Lima, taken at Dodger Stadium in 2004. Jose would park himself on top of the dugout to sign autographs and take pictures with fans before games. A great guy whose energy and personality was such an entertaining feature of the Dodgers at the time. I’ve missed him for years, and I miss him even more now.

Normally I would say something to the effect of resting in peace, but if there is an afterlife, Jose Lima has the place rocking and rolling, dancing, and anything but stodgily resting or peaceful. Thank goodness. :)

Mexican Wave by wonker, on Flickr

A short article in the science section of The Guardian, “Nature’s own Mexican wave”, makes connections between The Wave (as often performed in Dodger Stadium) and giant Asian honeybees, then continues with studies looking at the minimum number of people you need to start a Wave, its speed, and whether clockwise or counterclockwise movement was more prevalent.

No word on how to stop one once it’s gotten started, however. ;)

Put Metro’s Dodger Stadium Express in your Line-Up

Take advantage of a winning combination to reach Dodger Stadium this season. Just Go Metro to Union Station and connect with the Dodger Stadium Express. You won’t have to fight traffic and you’ll help reduce air pollution. Best of all, your Dodger ticket is good for the fare!

Union Station is served by Metrolink, Amtrak and many Metro and municipal bus lines, plus Metro Rail’s Red, Purple and Gold lines. So it’s easy to leave your car at home and connect with the Dodger Stadium Express.

Read more…

(Via Streetsblog LA.)

“With the opportunities he’s had and as many times as he’s done it, I don’t remember anybody being as heroic as him of all the guys I managed,” said Joe Torre, who held a team meeting after back-to-back blowout losses.

I’ll give you one guess which former Torre player popped into my mind first. ;)

Click for larger

Appropriate for the 5/5 date, too. ;)

Via @MetroLibrary, a post on The Eastsider LA gives details on the the possibilities of putting the CA high-speed train through a tunnel: “State bullet train might take a detour under Dodger Stadium”.

[...] after several years of lobbying federal officials and state railway builders, engineers involved in with the California High-Speed Rail Authority Line are looking at possibly shifting the rail line away from the river. Instead, after leaving Union Station, the train, under one scenario, would travel through a tunnel underneath the state parking now taking shape near Chinatown, Dodger Stadium and Elysian Park before emerging on the other side of the river [...]

One wonders if you could hear the trains go by during games, a la Seattle’s Safeco Field. ;)

I caught only a smidgen of the double header today on TV — James Loney’s justified anger at a called strike 3 and subsequent ejection, and then a bit of Charlie Haeger pitching the next half-inning.

Malaise is apparent. The Dodgers are 8-12, tied for the worst record in baseball (apart from the 4-16 Orioles). Great pitching days seem unable to coincide with great hitting days, and vice versa. If they ever put them both together, watch out.

At this point last season, the Dodgers were 14-7, winding up 15-8 at the end of April, in the midst of their record 20-0 home start and blissfully unaware of the Manny news coming May 7th. Presently, we are losing players to injuries rather than suspensions, but the season is still young. ;)

8-12 is not a death sentence by any means, nor would 8-15 be if they lose out for April. It’s one of those things: rationally, I know everything will even out eventually, and this ugly month will be a distant memory; emotionally, the thumb gets twitchy on the remote.

MLB Network will simulcast Vin Scully’s call of the Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers (the Dodgers’ 2010 home opener) on FSN Prime tomorrow, Tuesday, April 13 at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT. MLB Network’s carriage of the game, part of its “30 Games, 30 Clubs, 30 Days” live game schedule, will be blacked out in the Dodgers’ and Diamondbacks’ home television markets.

Speaking of openers, the Inland Empire 66ers (High A affiliate of the Dodgers) have their home opener tonight against the High Desert Mavericks, and although the weather is looking dicey, the rest of the day’s forecast seems good after 1 PM. The team tweeted this earlier:

Even though it is currently raining, WE ARE SCHEDULED to start at 7:05 and tickets are still available!!

A couple of years ago, we had tickets for the same game, which wound up being canceled due to field conditions after heavy rains — we were able to exchange for tickets any time later in the season (apart from big events like the 4th of July).

Well played, @FakeAPStylebook and @sosgsosg! ;)

On Twitter? Follow @trolleydodger today!

Oh, and I guess it’s probably a good thing I didn’t stay home to watch the Dodgers’ opening game today. Yikes. No high five.

Yes, this is not news to most online fans, those who have been religiously following and commenting on every last organizational wiggle since the end of the 2009 season. Having been one of those bloggers and one of those fans in off-seasons past, I had to take a step back this time around. A sort of palate cleansing, if you will.

After the McCourts’ implosion news threatened to turn the 2010 baseball season into a year-long episode of Divorce Court, I took a mental step back from MLB and turned my attention to the Lakers’ title defense, the Kings’ rebuilding plan coming to fruition, World Cup 2010 preparations, and Landon Donovan’s successful run with Everton FC.

Which is not to say I haven’t been keeping up on Dodger developments.

Storylines I’m especially curious about at the moment:

• The Eric Gagné Experiment, now moved to the minor league camp.
• Just how awesomely lethal the Kemp-Ethier combo could be this year.
• Just how awesomely lethal the Kershaw-Billingsley combo could be this year.
• Whether Furcal is as revitalized as he thinks he is.
• Where James McDonald winds up pitching, and whether he’s starting or relieving.
• Is Ramon Ortiz for real?
• What’s the severity of Kuo’s current elbow injury?
• Whither Belisario?
• What’s up with Russell Martin?
• Will the revised Union Station -> Dodger Stadium shuttle stick this time around?
• What does Garrett Anderson have in the tank?

So, with my baseball batteries recharged, I can finally relax a bit, look forward to the Spring’s first hot dog at the first ball game, and feel excited about the Dodgers again. :)

Congrats!

Belated congratulations to Jon Weisman and Tony Jackson for their respective moves to ESPN Los Angeles. Not to mention blogger Bob Timmermann joining LA Observed. Much success to them all!

Finally, an especial congratulations and thanks to Trolley-favorite Nomar Garciaparra, who recently announced his retirement. Thanks for the classiness, the carne asada, and the memories.

The problem with Juan was pretty simple: despite constant early arrivals for practice, an inspirational work ethic, and a speedy set of legs, his offensive output and defensive liabilities made the amount of money the Dodgers were paying for him unfathomable.

With the arrival of Manny Ramirez, Juan was left out in the cold, and despite a stellar month and a half of substitution last season, he still wasn’t worth how much the Dodgers were paying.

You can be a totally nice guy, a team player, and a paragon of community involvement … and still be totally overpayed during a stretch of financial inflexibility.

So, what more can we say than thanks for the help and good luck?

Not much else.

Maybe Jason Repko will finally get another chance at being the Dodgers’ 4th outfielder. He has (along with a couple of other players) the skills to equal or surpass Juan Pierre’s contribution, at several million fewer dollars. Just keep him away from Rafael Furcal. ;)